Cambodia - Basic Education Project

Integrated Safeguards Data Sheet (Initial) Report No: AC142 Section I - Basic Information Date ISDS Prepared/Updated: 07/01/2003 A. Basic Project Data (from PDS) I.A.1. Project Statistics Country: CAMBODIA Project ID: P070668 Project: KH-Basic Education Task Team Leader: Luis Benveniste Authorized to Appraise Date: March 31, 2004 IBRD Amount ($m): Bank Approval: September 30, 2004 IDA Amount ($m): 24.00 Managing Unit: EASHD Sector: Primary education (70%); Secondary Lending Instrument: Specific Investment Loan (SIL) education (30%) Status: Lending Theme: Education for all (P) I.A.2. Project Objectives (From PDS): The development objective of the project is to improve enrolment, transition and achievement of poor and disadvantaged students in primary and lower secondary schools. This goal will be achieved by (a) enabling equitable access to education and (b) promoting educational quality through a participatory approach to decentralized school cluster improvement planning, performance-based resource management and supportive government policy and administration. I.A.3. Project Description (From PDS): The project will consist of two components: (1) Enabling Equitable Access to Education; and (2) Supporting Education Quality Improvements. The project will be structured around how the central government, provincial and district offices, teacher training institutions and school clusters can best act as a support network to bring about changes in teaching and learning at the classroom level. Sustainable and quality enhancing management, financial, supervisory and pedagogical practices will be promoted so as to foster greater efficiency and effectiveness in educational service delivery and administration. Component 1: Enabling Equitable Access to Education for Disadvantaged Children. This component seeks to achieve more equitable access to education by addressing constraints to schooling access for disadvantaged children, especially in lower secondary and primary education. This objective will be achieved through two approaches: (a) by expanding education facilities in currently poor and under-served areas and (b) by supporting demand-side interventions and policies to foster participation in schooling. 1.1. Expanding educational facilities in poor and underserved areas. This sub-component will include assistance for additional classrooms in incomplete primary schools which do not offer the full Grade 1 through 6 range, currently overcrowded schools and/or where demand is projected to grow quickly. Facilities development at the primary level is expected to help increase student enrollments as well as reduce high dropout and repetition rates. In addition, the project will also provide additional Grades 7 to 9 facilities in districts and communes without lower secondary schools. 1.2. Reducing access barriers for disadvantaged children. MoEYS recognizes that simply expanding the number of schools will not suffice to increase participation in lower secondary education, particularly among the lowest poverty quintiles. The project will look to demand-side interventions and policy  2 ISDS measures as a means to address barriers to secondary education. The burden of direct and indirect costs is an area of particular concern. MoEYS is currently piloting several scholarship schemes, targeting poor children and especially girls and ethnic minority children. The lessons learned from these experiences will inform the appropriateness, scope, design and sustainability of related interventions financed through the project. A program of smaller awards, where financing would be available in selected poor communities to all children enrolled in school, is also under consideration. Component 2: Supporting Education Quality Improvements. The objective of this component is to support education quality improvements through three broad avenues: by strengthening decentralized school quality improvement planning, by enhancing teacher professional development, and by establishing a quality assurance and monitoring system. This component will strive to guide Ministry agencies at the central and local levels towards providing administrative and pedagogical support services to school clusters as well as to strengthen the skills of educators and government officials to enhance student outcomes. 2.1. Strengthening Decentralized School Quality Improvement Planning and Change. Clusters in Cambodia were formed during the period of reconstruction in order to encourage schools to share scarce human and material resources. They have since evolved into a vehicle for delivering teacher professional training and improving communication between districts and schools. Some of the best clusters have turned into true agents of development, with committees that meet regularly, conduct outreach activities with communities, raise funds, and conceive and implement development activities in schools, including cluster development plans to improve student access and education quality. The goal of this sub-component is to strengthen and extend the cluster school network so that more clusters are prepared to act as true "agents of development." It is expected to include: (a) provision of technical assistance at the district and/or provincial levels to upgrade skills of local educators and administrators to develop comprehensive school plans with community participation; (b) cluster capacity building in technical, financial, and management skills to implement, support, and monitor quality improvement strategies; and (c) training for staff to assume the role of school cluster "support agents." 2.2. Enhancing Teacher Professional Development. Working closely with the Teacher Education Department (TED) and Provincial Offices of Education and Teacher Training Colleges (TTCs), the project will support a comprehensive approach to improve pre- and in-service teacher training, strengthen synergies between the institutions in charge of their delivery, and reinforce the linkages between cluster improvement plans and decentralized teacher professional development. Activities will include the development of a comprehensive pre- and in-service support program based at the TTCs. This program would aim to support the increased production of newly qualified teachers, to upgrade teaching staff skills, improve the quality of available (in- but also pre-service) training programs and bring teacher training colleges more closely in contact with school practitioners. Activities would also aim to support Teacher Education Department staff responsible for teacher professional development and to foster the utilization of student assessment data to improve classroom teaching and learning. 2.3. Establishing a National Quality Assurance and Monitoring System. MoEYS has set as a goal to establish a national assessment system. This will be a mechanism to evaluate education quality and student achievement at the primary (and secondary) levels through a national standardized test on a continuous basis. The national assessment system is expected to operate as a permanent tool for monitoring student outcomes and will complement the existing education management information system. Assessment data could serve as an input for diagnosing the performance of pupils as well as providing feedback to enable the identification of gaps in learning outcomes not only at the national but also, potentially, at the school, cluster, district, and/or province levels. This information will guide the  3 ISDS development of relevant materials to enhance student learning, feed into teacher professional development schemes, and inform curriculum policy and education reform processes. I.A.4. Project Location: (Geographic location, information about the key environmental and social characteristics of the area and population likely to be affected, and proximity to any protected areas, or sites or critical natural habitats, or any other culturally or socially sensitive areas.) Component 1: Enabling Equitable Access to Education for Disadvantage Children: 1.1. Expanding Education Facilities in Poor and Underserved Areas Most incomplete schools are found in poor rural and remote areas (93%). In the poorest quintile, only 13% of schools offer the mandated six grades of primary schooling. Ratcliffe, Perry and Lee estimate that approximately 25% of the primary school student population face barriers to grade progression due to incomplete schools. This may be a factor contributing to student dropout rates. TABLE 1: Percentage of Incomplete Schools by Poverty Quintile Communes 2001/02 Highest Grade No. of PQ 1 PQ 2 PQ 3-5 No Ranking Taught Schools 1 292 37% 18% 38% 7% 2 582 27% 18% 47% 9% 3 609 27% 24% 43% 6% 4 564 26% 21% 47% 6% 5 434 25% 21% 47% 7% 6 3,260 13% 21% 64% 2% All Schools 5,741 19% 21% 56% 4% Source: Ratcliffe, Perry and Lee (2003). Phasing-Out Incomplete Primary Schools 2003-06 With regards to lower secondary education access, increasing representation from the poorest families is a key element of the Government's poverty reduction strategy. Approximately 60% of students enrolled in Grades 7-9 come from the richest two quintiles, while just over 20% come from the poorest two quintiles. Table 2. High Demand Poorest Communes Estimates P r o v i n c e N o . C o m m u n e s E s t im a t e d L S S P o p u l a t i o n B a n t e a y M e a n c h e y 1 4 1 5 , 4 8 9 B a tt a m b a n g 1 2 1 5 , 0 7 9 K a m p o n g C h a m 3 6 3 9 , 3 1 7 K a m p o n g C h h n a n g 1 9 1 7 , 2 2 2 K a m p o n g S p e u 2 4 2 1 , 7 2 8 K a m p o n g T h o m 2 5 2 6 , 6 1 2 K a m p o t 1 5 1 2 , 8 7 7 K a n d a l 2 2 2 7 , 0 6 5 K e p 2 1 , 7 2 8 K r a tie 6 5 , 4 5 7 O t d a r M e a n c h e y 3 2 , 5 9 9 P r e y V e n g 3 7 3 9 , 3 6 9 P u r s a t 1 8 2 0 , 2 2 5 S ie m r e a p 6 5 6 6 , 2 2 3 S ih a n o u k v ille 3 2 , 7 6 4 S v a y R ie n g 2 3 2 2 , 6 2 9 T a k e o 1 9 1 9 , 0 7 3 T O T A L 3 4 3 3 5 5 , 4 5 6 Source: Ratcliffe and Lee (2003). Rapid Expansion of Access to Lower Secondary Schooling for the Poorest Communes Notes: High demand communes are defined as possessing greater than 500 10-14 year-old students. Includes poorest quintiles 1 and 2 for communes based on WFP poverty survey. Population estimates are based on 1998 census.  4 ISDS Absence of lower secondary facilities in the poorest communes has been identified as a key obstacle for increasing access. According to Ratcliffe and Lee (2003), about 65% of communes--that is about 1,100 localities--have no lower secondary schools easily accessible. 1.2. Reducing Access Barriers for Disadvantaged Children to Attend Lower Secondary School No firm determinations have been made yet about the nature and characteristics of the demand-side incentive program to be implemented. In all likelihood, it will be a program with nationwide coverage, building on the pilot experiences already ongoing in Cambodia. Component 2: Supporting Education Quality Improvements: 2.1. Strengthening Decentralized School Quality Improvement Planning and Change An effective school cluster depends to some extent on the ability of the member schools to meet frequently and share experiences. Proximity of the schools to one another therefore plays a significant role. Interaction becomes time consuming and expensive for far flung schools. Hence, the focus of this activity will likely be in the central plains provinces. 2.2. Enhancing Teacher Professional Development This component will likely be implemented at the Provincial and Regional Training Colleges of the following locations, where these two institutions are in close proximity: Battambang, Kandal, Phnom Penh, Prey Veng and Takeo. But these localities are still up for discussion. 2.3. Establishing a National Quality Assurance and Monitoring System. This component will be implemented from Phnom Penh. B. Check Environmental Classification: C (Not Required) Comments: C. Safeguard Policies Triggered (from PDS) (click on for a detailed desciption or click on the policy number for a brief description) Policy Triggered Environmental Assessment (OP 4.01, BP 4.01, GP 4.01) Yes No TBD Natural Habitats (OP 4.04, BP 4.04, GP 4.04) Yes No TBD Forestry (OP 4.36, GP 4.36) Yes No TBD Pest Management (OP 4.09) Yes No TBD Cultural Property (OPN 11.03) Yes No TBD Indigenous Peoples (OD 4.20) Yes No TBD Involuntary Resettlement (OP/BP 4.12) Yes No TBD Safety of Dams (OP 4.37, BP 4.37) Yes No TBD Projects in International Waters (OP 7.50, BP 7.50, GP 7.50) Yes No TBD Projects in Disputed Areas (OP 7.60, BP 7.60, GP 7.60)* Yes No TBD Section II - Key Safeguard Issues and Their Management D. Summary of Key Safeguard Issues. Please fill in all relevant questions. If information is not available, describe steps to be taken to obtain necessary data.  5 ISDS II.D.1a. Describe any safeguard issues and impacts associated with the proposed project. Identify and describe any potential large scale, significant and/or irreversible impacts. OP 4.01 -- Environmental Assessment Due to the small scale of civil works in this project, a formal environmental assessment will not be necessary for individual sub-projects. For construction on existing sites, appropriate clauses in construction bidding documents and contracts regarding environmental issues such as dust and noise control, waste management, site management, and provision of clean water and sanitation facilities will be included. For construction on new sites, the project will use an environmental screening process. OP 4.04 -- Natural Habitats The project will not finance components that would significantly convert or degrade any known natural habitats or any established or proposed critical natural habitats as defined under the policy. OP 4.09 -- Pest Management The project will not procure any pesticides nor will an increased use of pesticides result from the project. OPN 11.03 (being converted to OP 4.11) -- Cultural Property Due to the community-based aspect of the construction contracts and the limited size of the civil works, the project will not likely finance activities that will adversely affect sites having archeological, paleontological, historical, religious, or unique natural values. OD 4.20 (being converted to OP 4.10) -- Indigenous Peoples (IP) Project activities will be focused on poor areas and those areas may contain indigenous ethnic minorities; however, at this stage of the project preparation process there are no specific interventions in the project for them. Overall, the project will strive to have a positive impact on the livelihoods of indigenous ethnic minorities and this will be subject of social analysis and consultation during the design process. The task team and the safeguards team will meet again as soon as the geographic scope of the project has been determined to discuss the project's approach to indigenous ethnic minorities. OP 4.12 -- Involuntary Resettlement It is highly unlikely that any land acquisition or resettlement will take place under the project. Sites will be screened during project preparation to determine whether land acquisition is required. OP 4.36 -- Forestry The project will not finance activities that would involve significant conversion or degradation of critical forest areas or related critical natural habitats as defined under the policy. OP 4.37 -- Safety of Dams The project will not be financing construction or rehabilitation of any large dams as defined under this policy. OP 7.50 -- International Waterways There are no known project components involving international waterways as defined under the policy. OP 7.60 -- Disputed Areas The project is not located in any known disputed areas as defined under the policy. II.D.1b. Describe any potential cumulative impacts due to application of more than one safeguard policy or due to multiple project component. None are expected. II.D.1c Describe any potential long term impacts due to anticipated future activities in the project area. None are expected. II.D.2. In light of 1, describe the proposed treatment of alternatives (if required)  6 ISDS II.D.3. Describe arrangement for the borrower to address safeguard issues II.D.4. Identify the key stakeholders and describe the mechanisms for consultation and disclosure on safeguard policies, with an emphasis on potentially affected people. Improving access to basic education demands close contact and dialogue with parents, communities and local stakeholders. The project will promote local participation and involvement through a variety of avenues, such as community-contracting schemes for school facilities development, participation of local management committees in demand-side incentive programs and community involvement in school cluster planning and management. The issue of gender disparity in schools is an area of particular concern. The project design will strive to increase the share of female students at primary and secondary schools. E. Safeguards Classification (select in SAP). Category is determined by the highest impact in any policy. Or on basis of cumulative impacts from multiple safeguards. Whenever an individual safeguard policy is triggered the provisions of that policy apply. [ ] S1.